If you are looking for a natural place to be amazed, you should take a trip to Zanjan Province in Iran and see the colorful Aladaghlar Mountains. ''Ala'' in Azeri Turkish language means colorful and ''Dag'' means mountain. The Aladaglar rainbow mountains and hills are tucked into the northwest of Iran, 25 kilometers in the northeast of Tabriz between Ahar and Khajeh. Along the road of Ahar-Tabriz, the landscape begins to switch step by step. -Amin Rahmani 6/3/20

An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale rocked Saleh Abad, Mehran, western Iran. According to the Seismological Center of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the earthquake occurred at 12:46 hours local time (09:11 GMT) and at the depth of 11 km underground. 6/3/20

A trilateral plan among Iran, Pakistan and India is being formulated to address locust swarm infestations that devour crops and threaten the livelihood and sustenance in the region, already struggling with coronavirus pandemic. The desert locust is considered the most destructive migratory pest in the world and a single swarm covering one square kilometer can contain up to 80 million locusts. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Friday there was an increased risk along both sides of India-Pakistan border. 6/2/20

Wildfire broke out on Thursday evening in several protected areas in the provinces of Khuzestan, Bushehr, Lorestan, Kohgiluyeh, and Boyer-Ahmad, including Khaeez protected area. The stretch, measuring 28,000 hectares, is one of the main habitats for wild goats. Being impassable has made any fire-fighting operation almost impossible and only helicopters could reach the area. 6/1/20

A group of Hawksbill baby sea turtles, hatched out on Tuesday morning in the southern Iranian Qeshm Island, crawl clumsily into the Persian Gulf to swim out to the free waters. The Persian Gulf islands of Shidvar, Nakhiloo, Kish, and Qeshm are four conservation sites for hawksbill sea turtles in Iran. -Asghar Besharati, Mehr 5/28/20

An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck the province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad in western Iran on May 24, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. State TV gave no immediate information about possible casualties or damage. 5/25/20

The Caspian Sea water level has reached its lowest level since 1995, mainly because of a recent drop in the water level of the Volga River, which supplies most of the sea's water, by about 22 percent. In 2019, the average water level stood at -27.18 meters, showing 13 centimeters decrease compared to the year before, ISNA reported. 5/21/20

On 8 May 2020, 48 minutes after the midnight (local time), a moderate earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 on the Richter scale shocked citizens of Tehran province. Most of the people were already in sleep. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the vicinity of Damavand, a city 40km northeast of Tehran. According to the 2016 national census, Damavand has 48,000 inhabitants. -Mehdi Zare, Tehran Times 5/13/20

An earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook Tehran province early on Friday, killing two and injuring 33. The earthquake occurred at 00:48 a.m. at a depth of 7 kilometers near the city of Damavand, 56km northeast of Tehran. The tremor was also felt in the surrounding provinces of Qom, Alborz, Mazandaran, and Zanjan. 5/8/20

After two decades of dryness, enough rains have finally come to bring Hamoun wetland back to life in the southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchestan, reviving agriculture in the region as well. Hamoun is the third-largest lake of Iran after the Caspian Sea and Urmia Lake. 5/1/20

Lake Urmia water level has increased by 50 centimeters compared to the same time last year, Farhad Sarkhosh, head of the Lake Urmia Restoration Program's office in West Azarbaijan province, has announced. According to the latest monitoring, the lake's level has reached 1,271 meters and 64 centimeters, which is 50 centimeters higher than the last year's level, he stated, IRNA reported on Saturday. 4/10/20

In the latest article in a series on how some of the world's key emitters are responding to climate change, Carbon Brief profiles Iran, a major petrostate stricken by long-running droughts. -Josh Gabbatiss, Carbon Brief 2/21/20

The Iran Khodro Compnay (IKCO), the largest carmaker in Iran, has unveiled a first electric car that could reach mass production in two years time. A report by the IRNA agency on Tuesday said that the Electric RANA, a sedan which bears the name of one of the recent models of IKCO, is equipped with a special engine that is designed by a subsidiary of the company. 2/19/20

team group presents an investigation into the ancestral architecture of the hot and dry regions of iran with the proposed 'sunken courtyard' or bagh chal. among the most powerful and significant elements of iranian architecture, the courtyard spatial type is reimagined as an introverted, brick monument which embraces its occupant below the level of the ground in coolness and shadows within a naturally desertous context. the envisioned project, programmed as a boutique restaurant, is integrated into the flat landscape and made up of zones organized with inverted symmetry. -designboom 2/18/20

Four days after heavy snowfall hit the province of Gilan, northern Iran, thousands of people in the urban and rural areas of the region are still without water and electricity. At least eight people have been killed and 145 more injured in the snow-hit province, while many rural roads are blocked. Over 250,000 people in Gilan are suffering from a power outage, the state-run Khabar-Online news agency reports. 2/14/20

Miankaleh international wetland has recently witnessed the death of over 13,000 migratory birds. Although veterinary organization announced that the birds have been killed due to the "botulinum toxin", some environmentalists believe that water pollution and other factors that have not yet been investigated have caused unprecedented bird mortality in the area. -Faranak Bakhtiari 2/7/20

Men across this windblown, lawless desert have fought over opium, God and gasoline, but now, Said Mohammed, a wheat farmer with a shovel and a rifle, senses a war brewing over water. The conflict runs along the dangerous border between Afghanistan and Iran, where the Helmand River winds like an existential thread through two troubled lands. -Stefanie Glinski, Los Angeles Times 2/6/20

Popular culture is filled with many infamous villainous partnerships: Bonnie and Clyde, Sauron and Saruman, Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine. As long as one thrives, the other survives. The climate crisis and militarism are the same. And just as we would the other devastating duos, champions of environmental and human justice must recognize the climate crisis and militarism as partners, rather than isolated evils, in order to truly confront them.-Laila Ujayli, Responsible Statecraft 2/3/20

Some 6,000 bodies of lifeless migratory birds have been found so far around Miankaleh peninsula, located in the extreme south-eastern part of the Caspian Sea, IRNA news agency reported on Monday. On the fourth day of monitoring, the number of dead migratory birds have reached 5,900, the carcasses were mostly from three bird species of Flamingo, coot and Northern shoveler that have been discovered around the shores of the Galoogah and Qalehpayan villages of Behshahr city. 1/29/20

Qeshm, an Iranian island with a total area of about 1,500 square kilometers, is located in the Strait of Hormuz. It is the world's biggest dependent territory whose area is larger than the total space of the world's 22 smallest countries. The island, which comprises 65 hamlets and three towns, is also the biggest island in the Persian Gulf home to more than 100,000 people. -IFP 1/28/20

All the facilities and capacities of the country have been mobilized to assist people in the flood-stricken province of Sistan-Baluchestan, IRNA news agency reported on Tuesday. Unprecedented heavy rainfall which began on January 10 has led to flash flooding in the southeastern province, as 145 stations have recorded rainfall, 95 of which have reported receiving more than 50 mm of rain and 17 stations received some 100-200 mm. 1/14/20

A moderate earthquake has shaken northeastern Iran, near the border with Afghanistan. Morteza Salimi, head of rescue at Iran's Red Crescent, told state television on January 2 that there was little damage and no casualties. The earthquake measured 5.8 on the Richter scale and was centered on an area near the town of Sangan, which has a population of about 10,000, official media reported. 1/2/20

Due to air pollution and increased particulate matters in provinces of Isfahan, Alborz, Tehran, Markazi, Qazvin, Qom, East Azarbaijan, West Azarbaijan, Khuzestan, and Yazd, 13,931 people referred to hospital emergency services throughout the country, of whom 8,547 were cardiac patients and 5,384 were respiratory patients, according to Mojtaba Khaledi, Emergency Medical Services Organization spokesman. 12/27/19

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 has struck southern Iran near the Bushehr nuclear plant, U.S. and European experts say. The U.S. Geological Survey listed the quake as moderate, meaning that it can cause considerable damage, but Iranian state media said no damage was reported at the nuclear site early on December 27. -RFE/RL 12/27/19

The spokesman of Iran's Emergency Services Organization said December 23 that in the past 24 hours 2,426 people visited hospital emergency rooms. These were people with heart and respiratory diseases who are most vulnerable to air pollution. The spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told the government news website IRNA that emergency cases were the highest in Tehran Province, with 1,209 people seeking help. -Radio Farda 12/24/19

The Iranian capital Tehran and other large cities across the country are preparing for a full week of polluted days as the government insists gasoline pumped into the cars is low-emission and consistent with the latest European and international standards on environment protection. The official IRNA agency said that Air Quality Index (AQI), which quantifies the number of a tiny particulate matter in the air, stood at 119 on average for all neighborhoods of the metropolitan Tehran over 24-hour period ending 11:00 a.m. local time on Thursday. 12/21/19

The third Artistic Fall-Leaf Art Event was held in Tehran's Mashq Square for December 14 to 16, in collaboration with the Alumni Association of the Tehran University of Art, Municipality Office of 12 District, and the Tehran Beautification Organization. -Honar Online 12/18/19

A blackout caused by lightning and the failure of the hospital's emergency power system claimed the lives of four elderly women in the intensive care unit of Khomeini hospital of Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan Province. The women had been hospitalized for respiratory problems caused by air pollution, another problem the province has been plagued with. The emergency power system failed to work when a fuse was struck by lightning. 12/18/19

Referring to the unprecedented air pollution in the past few days the Mayor of Tehran on Tuesday said the capital would have had to be evacuated if it had not rained last night. Speaking at a meeting of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce Tuesday, Pirouz Hanachi said the average concentration of hazardous airborne particles hit 200 micrograms per cubic meter on Monday night which is considered as "past the alert stage". -Radio Farda 12/18/19

Heavy smog has caused Tehran officials to order the closure of dozens of schools and suspend outdoor sporting activities in the Iranian capital. The decision to shut schools was announced December 14 by deputy governor Mohammad Taghizadeh, after a meeting of an emergency committee on air pollution. 12/15/19

Iranian authorities are refusing to transfer imprisoned conservationist Sam Rajabi to the hospital to treat a serious medical condition, and are continuing to hold three of his colleagues in solitary confinement without legal justification, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. "It appears that the authorities are punishing them for objecting to the [preliminary] court's decision and insisting that they had confessed under pressure and deception," said Tehran-based attorney Mohammad Hossein Aghasi in an interview with CHRI on December 11. -CHRI 12/13/19

Two Asiatic cheetahs, kept in captivity at Tehran's Pardisan Park, have reached the bitter end because they have lost their ability to regenerate and should be returned to nature. Female Asiatic cheetah, Delbar, and the male one, Kushki have lived in the capital for the past few years. In 2015, the female Asiatic cheetah once became pregnant naturally but sadly lost her cub. 12/11/19

Tehran Mayor on Sunday said results of the investigation to find the source a foul odor periodically plaguing various areas of the capital since January have been sent to the Disaster Mitigation and Management Organization. In an interview with the state-run television (IRIB) last night the mayor Pirouz Hanachi said there is still no definite answer about the source of the obnoxious smell. -Radio Farda 12/9/19

Asiatic cheetah, the planet's fastest mammal, are facing extinction as their population has dramatically shrank to less than 7,000 in the world over the past few years, with a small remaining population in Iran. The Iranian cheetah population seems to be in trouble; incidental killing of cheetahs by people or livestock guarding dogs, habitat fragmentation and loss of biological corridors and prey base depletion, mining activity and road construction were among the main factors that threatened the lives of these valuable species. 12/5/19

Schools and universities have been shut in parts of Iran including the capital, Tehran, due to high levels of pollution, state media report. The decision to shut schools and universities in the capital on November 30 was announced late on November 29 by Deputy Governor Mohammad Taghizadeh, after a meeting of an emergency committee for air pollution. -RFE/RL 11/30/19

IN SEPTEMBER 2017, a group of Iranian environmentalists working on Asiatic cheetah preservation with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation felt a pang of alarm. Thomas S. Kaplan, a billionaire precious metals investor then best known for his fine art collection, had just made a surprise public appearance in New York at the annual conference of United Against Nuclear Iran. The Iranian environmentalists were concerned because their group had gotten aid from one of Kaplan's nonpolitical charities. Now, he was speaking before a group that was extremely hostile to their country. -Murtaza Hussain, Intercept 11/28/19

Iranian authorities say a major leak that has taken place off an oil rig in the Persian Gulf waters is being contained as they insist more work would be needed to stanch the expanding spill. Head of the local branch of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) in the southwestern province of Blushehr said on Tuesday that the leak had been spotted from an oil transfer pipeline connected to the Abuzar Oil Platform located around 13 kilometers off Kharg, the island from which Iran sells much of its crude. -Press TV 11/27/19

The governor of Tehran province said on Tuesday that elementary schools in cities of Tehran, as well as in Varamin, Qarchak and Pishva, all to the south of the capital, will be closed on Wednesday given that an index measuring the quality of the air in those cities was still at unhealthy levels, especially for sensitive groups of the population. 11/13/19

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 has struck in northwestern Iran in the East Azerbaijan Province, killing at least five people, state media have reported. According to early reports, at least 120 other people have been injured in the quake, which hit at 2:17 a.m. on November 8. -RFE/RL 11/8/19

A 5.4-magnitude earthquake has struck the southern Iranian province of Hormozgan, state TV reports. The were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The European-Mediterranean Seismological Center put the quake's magnitude at 5.5, saying it struck at 11:10 a.m. on November 6. The earthquake was centered some 80 kilometers north of the port city of Bandar-e Lengeh and 120 kilometers west of Bandar Abbas, it said. 11/6/19

Latest figures published in Iran show 233 cities and towns still face water shortage despite plenty of rains in the spring that inundated vast areas of the country and killed dozens. About 140 cities are in the state of yellow alert, with means ten percent water shortage, while 59 cities and towns are in the red category with more than 20 percent shortage. The rest face orange alert. -Radio Farda 10/29/19

Hundreds of people suffering from respiratory problems have visited the medical centers in the city of Ahvaz in the oil-rich province of Khuzestan, southwest Iran, after first seasonal rains that were mixed with air pollutants. 10/28/19

The last remaining western Siberian crane, called 'Omid' (meaning Hope in Persian), has returned to Iran once again to spend the winter but one month earlier than the previous years, IRNA news agency reported on Monday. 10/21/19

Tehran Municipality plans to hold programs in line with Climathon 2019 on October 24-25, looking for optimal solutions for issues such as air pollution and waste management. With a powerful solutions-hackathon at its core, Climathon is a year-round program, which powers a global wave of change makers and innovators to help humanity achieve zero emissions in 20 to 30 years. 10/20/19

The charge of "corruption on earth," which can lead to the death penalty under Iranian law, has been dropped against four detained conservationists following intervention by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) has learned. -CHRI 10/15/19

Bikeways stretching to 550 kilometers will be built across the capital city of Tehran over the next five years, an official with Tehran Municipality has said. Two years ago, a five-year plan was developed in collaboration with a Dutch group and international consultants aiming to develop cycling in Tehran, Mehdi Hassanzadeh, manager of the project for development of cycling in Tehran explained. 10/8/19

Although Iran is the only country which can save the precious species from disappearance, conservation projects fall into a single solution of captive-breeding. Cheetah's captive-breeding is not necessarily an inefficient plan, nonetheless concerns come up from recent unsuccessful projects. Will the endangered beauty surpass its unknown fate and escape extinction? -Faranak Bakhtiari, Tehran Times 9/3/19

Two bear cubs were found dead at a landfill site in Dena county, southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, the provincial department of environment (DOE) chief has announced. Lack of wildlife protection culture among people as well as awareness, and a lack of conservation forces are among the issues led to such tragic events, he lamented. 9/3/19

Caspian seals, the sole marine mammals inhabiting the Caspian Sea, have faced a sharp decline in population over the past three decades, pushing the species towards extinction, Davood Mirshekar, deputy chief of the Department of Environment for marine ecosystems, has stated. 8/27/19

Gholam-Ali Beski, physician and environmentalist who dedicated a lifetime protecting the environment and promoting public awareness on climate change, passed away on Wednesday, leaving the nature to the people hoping for tougher measures to preserve the remaining natural resources. 8/22/19

Photos show rock climbers rappelling through Iran's Parau Cave, locally renowned as "Everest of all caves". Looking for adventure? This vertical limestone cave, which is one of natural attractions of Kermanshah province in the Zagros Mountains, offers a wild and challenging expedition for experienced rock climbers! 8/21/19

A male Persian lion, born 6 years ago, was sent to Tehran Zoological Garden from Britain's Bristol Zoo on May 1, under a population management program aiming at endangered species reproduction by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). A female lion of the same subspecies from Ireland also sent to Iran to accompany the male lion through the conservation program. 8/13/19

Severe sand and dust storms (SDSs) has left 127 patients hospitalized due to respiratory problems in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, head of provincial disaster mitigation and management organization has said. 8/13/19

The World Resources Institute's (WRI) latest report says that Iran, along with Israel, Lebanon, and Qatar, are struggling with an "extraordinary water crisis." The three are among the most water-stressed countries, according to the new data, consuming an average of 80% of their available water resources every year. -Radio Farda 8/8/19

A Persian leopard has been captured alive in Razavi Khorasan Province, northeast of Iran. The Managing Director of Environment Department of Razavi Khorasan, Touraj Hemmati, said on Sunday that following a series of attacks by a leopard on the herd dogs in a village located on the edge of Tandoureh Protected Area in the north east of Iran, a rescue team was sent to the area to capture the leopard alive to treat him due to the wounds on his body and tooth infection. 8/2/19

Female Asiatic cheetah, Delbar, being kept in captivity at Tehran's Pardisan Park, had undergone artificial insemination some 100 days ago, but it turned to be unsuccessful, director of the wildlife conservation and management at the Department of Environment has said. 8/1/19

Three provinces across the country will soon have green schools, Darioush Varnaseri, deputy director of the organization for school renovation, development and equipment, has stated. "Green schools will be built in three provinces of Tehran, Qazvin, and Sistan-Baluchestan," Varnaseri said, ISNA reported on Sunday. -Tehran Times 7/29/19

A group of sculptors has been commissioned by the Kerman Municipality to transform dried-out trees situated in the courtyard of Kerman's Mathematics Park and National Library into sculptures in an art project titled "Wooden Memory". 7/25/19

Some 25,000 hectares of Hyrcanian Forest in northern Iran undergo fragmentation mostly due to land use changes for agricultural and residential purposes, wood smuggling and overgrazing, an official with the national network for environmental and natural resources organizations has said. Unfortunately, lack of supervision and protective measures is exacerbating the condition for Hyrcanian Forest, ISNA quoted Masoud Molana as saying on Saturday. 7/8/19

On June 30, the 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan, to assess 36 nominees, including Iran's Hyrcanian Forest, for possible inscription on the World Heritage list. Hyrcanian Forest (also known as Caspian Forest), extends from the south of Azerbaijan to about 900 km to the east to the Iranian northern provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan. 7/3/19

The Persian Gulf is one of the most populous and environmentally-sensitive regions in the world. Consequently, it is no surprise that Gulf states are increasingly dependent on desalination for their drinking water. But that dependence carries severe risks in a region as volatile as the Gulf has been, especially in light of recent tensions between the United States and Iran. -Najmedin Meshkati 6/27/19

Three Persian leopards and an Asiatic cheetah have been spotted in Khar Turan National Park of Shahroud, Semnan province, a senior official at the Department of Environment (DOE) said. Amir Abdoos, director of Semnan's DOE office, said the three mature leopards were spotted by the trap cameras while approaching the protected zones in search of water. -Mehr 5/27/19

Tehran Zoological Garden, also known as Eram Zoo, will be home to Asiatic lion, which was extinct in the country for almost 80 years, a veterinarian at Eram Zoo has said. According to Iman Memarian the last remaining Asiatic lion was sighted about 80 years ago in Iran. He went on to explain that before and after the Islamic Revolution (1979) Iran made attempts to bring back Asiatic lion to Iran, but Indians did not cooperate. 5/2/19

Iranian Plant Protection Organization (IPPO) warned on Thursday, April 18, that if the necessary budget for fighting desert locusts is not provided within two weeks, nothing could be done, and a locust breakout turns into a new crisis, alongside the flash floods. -Radio Farda 4/22/19

Twelve of the 20 environmental conservationists arrested in Iran's Kurdistan Province in January and February 2019 remain in detention centers run by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence in the city of Sanandaj, the provincial capital, without access to legal counsel. 4/19/19

The University of Tehran's science and technology park will host a conference on the role of technology in natural disasters relief on May 1, ISNA reported. The establishment of relief startup network, the role of science and technology parks and universities in natural disaster will be discussed during the conference and some new emerging technologies will be introduced during the event. 4/18/19

Iranian officials are warning that even though floodwaters have been receding in most parts of the country, several provinces remain under a flood warning due to renewed heavy precipitation. Also on Sunday, the country's Forensic Medicine Organization increased the death toll from the ongoing floods to 76. Most recently, the organization said, flooding claimed the lives of five people in Khuzestan Province and left a sixth person dead in the western Province of Ilam. 4/14/19

Iranian authorities have ordered residents of five districts of the southwestern city of Ahvaz to evacuate, as floodwaters entered Khuzestan Province's capital, local media report. Provincial Governor Gholamreza Shariati said on April 10 that the evacuation order was a "precautionary and preventive move to avert any danger," according to the semiofficial Tasnim news agency. 4/11/19

Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio has once again defended eight Iranian environmentalists who have been in detention for more than a year, charged with vague accusations. Last February, DiCaprio called for international support and circulated a petition for the release of the Iranian environmentalists who were arrested by the intelligence organization of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, IRGC. -Radio Farda 4/11/19

Ali Moridi, head of soil and water office at the Department of Environment (DOE), warned that the recent flood hitting the southwestern province of Khuzestan carried huge sediment loads which could turn into new sand and dust storm (SDS) hotspots after being dried. 4/10/19

At least a total number of 77 schools were destroyed due to devastating floods in various provinces across Iran, a non-governmental organization said on Monday. Out of the 77 destroyed schools, 55 were in Lorestan Province in central west of Iran and 22 were in Golestan north of the country, according to Mehr Giti that has conducted an assessment in affected regions in Iran. 4/9/19

Less precipitation in Iran's flood-hit parts in the past two days has enabled rescue workers to have access to some parts of Lorestan province, particularly in the cities of Pol-e Dokhtar and Mamoulan, where thousands of people are marooned. Meanwhile, Iran Meteorological Organization (IRMO) says a new wet front is going to hit Iran, save its southeastern parts, in the next 48 hours. 4/5/19

An Iranian state-linked charity says more than 25,000 homes have been destroyed in flash floods across Iran amid what authorities said were the heaviest rains recorded in the past decade. Thousands of people from scores of villages and towns have been evacuated across the country as forecasters predicted more heavy rains in the next two days. 4/2/19

The Gomishan and Aqqala counties in northern province of Golestan have been severely affected by recent flash floods and people have to travel around the surrounding areas by boats these days. -Raheleh Hessari, Mehr 4/1/19

A state of emergency has been declared in the southwestern Iranian province of Khuzestan amid threats of fresh flooding. Khuzestan's Governor-General Qolam-Reza Shariati said the emergency was announced after weather forecasts showed that the provinces north of Khuzestan north were to witness heavy downpours over the next 24 hours, leading to heavy amounts of water moving downstream into Khuzestan and potentially causing rivers there to overflow their banks. 3/31/19